Prologue
The cargo ship used to transport Maul and his brother Savage Opress rocked slowly in all directions in the space above Reydonia. Though he would have loved to take his revenge against Obi-wan Kenobi, he was not entirely upset when Kenobi escaped him with a Dathomir witch who had sided with him in the duel between Maul and Savage against Kenobi. "What now, brother? Do we go after them?" Savage asked his brother.
Maul had thought about that shortly after Kenobi had escaped in the detachable cockpit of the ship and knew exactly how to answer when Savage asked the question in words. "No, we will be patient, Savage. I have waited so many years for my revenge, I can wait a little longer," he said to his brother. "But the Jedi will know that you've survived, they will be coming for us!" Savage exclaimed.
Maul smiled at that comment, Savage's inexperience giving him a slight tickle. But like the question Savage had asked before, Maul knew how to reply to this comment. "I am counting on it," he said after a moment of silence. For a brief time, Savage had nothing to say to that and Maul was actually pleased with the silence that followed afterwards.
Then Savage asked what they were to do in the meantime between keeping their heads down until the Jedi began searching for them or bringing the fight to them. "No, bringing the fight to them will only result in our capture or deaths and I cannot have that while I still seek revenge against Kenobi. Take us back to Dathomir and I will begin your training in the ways of the Dark Side, it seems that though gifted you still have much to learn," Maul answered. "Though I accept your offer enthusiastically (as it was the biggest reason I searched you out in the first place), won't the Jedi look for us on Dathomir?" Savage inquired.
Maul chuckled at that because the question told him that though Savage's naiveté was still overwhelming, he had done at least some good thinking on his part. "You're right, the Jedi will seek us out on Dathomir which leaves us with only one choice. I'm setting the course for planet Nyx in the Erebus system after we make a stop on Falleen. If an old friend of mine is still Nyx's ruler, we may be safe until your training is nearly completed," he said to his brother.
"Who is this friend of yours, brother?" Savage asked. "His name is Laertes Draco and I had once helped him quash a rebellion nearly fourteen years ago. I haven't seen him since and don't know if he is still the King of Nyx, might be worth checking out even if it means risking another encounter with the Jedi scum," Maul answered. "I've never heard of this system before, was it new in your time?" Savage asked curiously.
"No, it was thousands of years old even before I went there for the first time. But Savage, if you have not been outside of Dathomir much, there are still many systems you have not heard of that I have explored and conquered for the Sith," Maul replied. After that, Maul punched in the coordinates for Falleen and then told his brother to take over the controls of their ship while he walked around and saw what was in the cargo boxes on the ship. "Yes brother, shall I contact you when we're in sight of Nyx?" Savage asked.
Maul nodded and thanked him for taking over while he went and checked out the metal boxes. As he walked around, he used his lightsaber to open some of them while merely using the Force to open others. It was mostly food and other supplies but he did catch enough parts for customization on his new legs. If he was going to reveal himself to King Laertes after all these years, he was going to need something to cover the damage Kenobi had done to his body.
With relative ease due to having the right tools to pull it off, Maul managed to sever his massive from his mechanical ankles safely. Then he assembled human feet and quickly attached them to the ankles of his mechanical apparatus. He tested the sensitivity of these new feet and they worked perfectly for artificial replacements of what he once had. In addition, these new feet made him even taller when standing erect than he had been moments ago.
They made him so tall in fact that Savage was barely half a head taller than him now. Laertes would be surprised to see the height difference but would not faint since he wouldn't be seeing the mechanical apparatus that Mother Talzin had built for him on Dathomir. Maul smiled in appreciation of this upgrade from the clawed feet that though advantageous against Kenobi would give him away if he went out into public with them. Now, he needed to see if his reservations on Falleen had expired or if Prince Xizor would still allow him to remain on Falleen for free.
Then he recalled that Xizor had vowed to not let it expire for twenty years and it had only been seventeen since he had been to the Prince's dangerous homeworld. The customization took long enough for Savage to report their arrival at Falleen and Maul thanked him before going into the cockpit and entering in his ID number to the orbiting security stations on Falleen. "Welcome back Mr. Apollonius, we have missed you on our world," said the lady taking in the code for them. "Mr. Apollonius?" Savage inquired, confused.
"One of my many aliases on worlds like this one. It was a way of avoiding the attention of the Jedi when I served under Darth Sidious and I intend to keep us hidden until we're ready to strike again," Maul explained. Then he added that once they arrived to Maul's suite, they would begin working on Savage's lightsaber skills and finding a suitable style of combat for him. Savage knew his training was only just beginning but he had no idea how much Maul had to teach him nor would he until near the end of their time together.
They touched down on the system and were personally welcomed by Xizor, who showed no surprise as to Maul's condition if he ever cared. "Allow me to introduce my brother, Mr. Apollo," Maul said to Xizor. "It is always a pleasure to meet a relative of a client and you sir are most welcome to use Mr. Apollonius' reservation at any time you need it in the future," Xizor said to Savage. Savage humbly thanked him before he and Maul were led to the latter's massive suite where Savage would at last begin the training Talzin promised Maul would give to him.